Hybrid's got power, space at not-too-premium price

0 Comments | USA TODAY, September, 2006 | by James R. Healey

General Motors thinks that buyers of gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles will sacrifice eye-popping fuel economy numbers if the price isn't eye-popping, too. Thus, the $23,000 Saturn Vue Green Line, a less-complicated hybrid priced about $2,000 more than a gasoline version of the Saturn SUV. A hybrid's typical premium is $4,000 or so.

Is that $2,000 premium a good value? Toyota's latest hybrid, the Camry, is only about $2,400 more than its gasoline counterpart, and it gets 44% better fuel economy in government tests. Vue Green Line's price premium buys you a 21% boost in mileage. Not to suggest that a buyer would be trying to decide between Camry sedan and Vue SUV hybrids. The vehicles are too different. But Toyota has set a new standard for hybrid pricing that others ignore...